Batteryless flashlight



Dec. 26, 1950 J. c. CLARK- 2,535,041

BATTERYLESS FLASHLIGHT .F'iled Feb. 14, 1948 7 JOSEPH c. CLARK.

(lttorneg Patented Dec. 26, 1950 U N I T ED RATEN T OFFICE 2,535,041 "BA'rrERYnEss FLASHLIGHT Joseph C.=Clark,-MerchantvilIe,"N. .L, assignor to deny Corporation, =Merchantville, N. .J., 'a "corporation of; New Jersey ApplicationTehruary 14, 19'48jSeriai M58541? -10 Claims. CL 171 '76) This invention relates to batteryle's's flash lights.

In recognition of the unpredictable iife and unexpected failures of battery-p'o'wered flash lights, with their chemical "characteristics and inevitable deterioration manyeiiorts havebeen exerted hitherto toward the creation of iia'sh lights having manual generators or-powerplants, by Which'in'any kind of emergency a source'of light would be continuously available; hecause not subject'to the-deterioration found of the battery powered devices. As 'previouslydevfloped, however, all prior art devices so far as known were "characterized by undue size and weight, low power, frictional resistancetoactuation, have been cumbersome and unwieldy,

have not been capable of operation by mere pressure of a thumb, and inmost cases "providedin adequate light. 'Generally the *arrangementsof such devices were such as to 'reduce thevisual te'ryless'fiashlights; to provide in gearinga novel unidirectional drive including overrunning "in one direction 'withouttheuse of a clutch; to utilize'in a manual 'generato'r'set the'magnetic of the generator as the means for 'causinggears to m'esh'i'n one directionfof' running; "to"provide improvements in gearing having a reversingactuation while having an unidirectional ultimate drive; to provide a small'coinp'act manual generator system'for "a resistanceunit energization, whether the unit be for illumination 'o'r forheat; to provide a batteryless'fia'shlight"with a'substantially constant beam; 'to'provide a batteryless flash light with a lightsource so disposed relative'to the housing that inthe nornialuse Of thefiash light the directrays or "the light source are shielded from the eyes ofthe observer by' the housingei the device; to provide a batteryless 'fla'sh li-giit formed 'of-a' reduced number of partsoverpridrfart; devices; to providea batteryless flash lightof extremely"thin and-compact size in which the operations of assembly are quicker 'and'sim'plertha'n' in prior art devices and thus-to reduce the"costs :of such flash light; to, provide 'housingih vmg suitable recesses for confining tlieopeiating"mechanism mal utilization thereof "for illuminating *p'urso that-no 'screws are necessary 'to 'att'ach one to the other; to providea housing of-complemenrta'ry "halves whichare cemented 'together'to both retain the inne mechanism and to 'retaineac'h sure and -sliding-inotion;-and to provideother advantages as will become apparent as thedescription proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this description:

Fig. 1 represents 'a perspective of an illustra- -tive einloodiment of the invention 'Fig 'Z-repr'esentsa side elevation of the deviceof Fig. 1 with one substantial half portion of the two-piece case removed to showthe operating portions and indicating-the line o'fsi ght passing over the'top'ofthe devicein-thenorposes;

Fig. 3 represents a transversever'tical section through the c'ompletehou'se'd assembly taken on line 3- 3 of Fig. 2; v

Fig. "4 represents anexploded erspeetiv'e "of certain of the elements for association in "a rivetedassembly with some of the parts broken "away or omitted, as the separately"formed basic structural elements of the generator;

Fig. 5 represents a'transverse lateral'section "through the case;

Fig. "6 represents a fragmentaryside ele'vation of the operating generator assembly of'the 'invention removed from the case, and with the large driving gear removed;

"Fig. 7 represents a fragmentary "transverse section through the laminated coreof the "genfly-wheel magnet used in the generator "system in the'field of "flux oi" such fly-wheel so "as 'to "magnetize such central pinion;

Fig. 9 represents .a side elevation of themagnetize'd central. gear with lines of force shown by" arrows diagrammatically establishing a field of flux relative thereof, and as iSugge'stedhytl'ie arrows, attracting toward it' the instantaneously tout-'of mesh 'rack driven 'slidabl'el'pinion gear of he ne eem Fig. 10 representsin fragmentary side elevation the meshed relation of the magnetized central gear and the rack-driven pinion gear, and the meshed relation of the magnetized central gear coupled larger gear with the pinion, keyed to the fly-wheel magnet, as the rack moves inwardly to impart torque to the fly-wheel, with arrows indicating the relative instantaneous directions of motion of the respective parts;

Fig. 11 represents a fragmentary side elevation of the same parts as are shown in Fig. 10, with the rack-driven gear in the out-of-mesh position relative to the central magnetized gear to which it is forced by torque from the wheel, as the rack returns to its operative extended position because of its springbias, to secure the unidirectional motion of the fly-wheel with the instantaneous direction of motions of the parts indicated by arrows;

Fig. 12 represents a fragmentary side elevation of the outer notched or recessed end of the rackibaig and the adjacent latch portions of the frame relative to which by the upward thrust indicated by the arrow the notch and latch become interlocked;

Fig. 13 represents a fragmentary side elevation similar to that of Fig. 12, in which the rack bar is indicated as moving outwardly under its bias, after being pushed downwardly out of the restrained interlocked position of latch and re- .cess shown;

Fig. 14 represents a fragmentary side elevation of the rack bar and the notched frame element, with the resilient stop against which in the .normal linear actuation of the rack bar the end of the rack abuts, as shown in full lines, and,

from which, under excessive linear push, the resilient device is caused to yield to Permit interlocking of the rack and the frame elements, as in- ;dicated in dotted lines.

- Forsimplicity of explanation, the dimensional ,terms used will be considered as applied to the device in the upright position indicated.

The operating portion of the apparatus is the complete generator system, arranged for anchored disposition in the housing or casing. The generator assembly in its entirety will, therefore, be described first, and the simplicity and ease of assembly thereof and of the generator with the ,case will become apparent as the relation of the parts is described.

The generator system or magneto of the device comprises a plurality of laminations Hi, ar-

above this by the upwardly sweeping arcuate surfaces |5, leading vertically into the relatively short transverse horizontal leg It, spaced from the arcuate surface It to provide an operating clearance I1. The respective lamination stacks H and I2 are disposed in mutually reversed and confronting juxtaposed relation out of direct physical contact with each other so as to form the clearances shown. It will be apparent that the stamping of a plurality of identical laminations will be an economical procedure, as will the arrangement thereof in complemental core stacks. Preferably, each core has a pair of rivet openings IS. The stacks are held initially in proper operative mutual relation by axially inserting the free ends of the respective horizontal or transverse legs I6, of the complemental pair of stacks into the common hollow coil It. The coil has two leads therefrom, respectively 26 and 2|, which in due course are connected to the operative points of a screw threaded or other socket receptacle 23, or, if desired, directly to the resistance unit, to be described.

With the properly associated pair of stacks of laminations provided as just described, there are also provided a pair of shards or lateral frame members to be associated therewith, in the form of suitable stampings, respectively 25 and 26,-of suitable non-magnetic material, for the opposite sides of the respective stacks. The frame member or shard 25, comprises a plate portion 21, having a pair of rivet openings 28-23 for align.-

'ment with the respective core rivet openings |9'|9, defining a lower annular opening 38 and a transverse web 3!, struck out of the plane of the plate 21. The web 3| contains a bushing or bearing opening 32. At the upper end the plate Zl' is centrally cut and stamped to remove a portion, while integral tongues are formed at the top ofthe plate and bent to form two ears 33 and 34, respectively, in substantial parallelism normal to plate 2i extending oppositely to the direction of stamped misalignment of the web 3 The ears have a pair of generally centrally located aligned apertures 35 and 35, respectively, through which, prior to association with the remainder of the assembly, the guide rod 3'i is axially slid to relatively loosely mounted disposition therein, and

the compresion spring 38 is slid axially over the rod during the assembly of the rod with the ears. The length of the rod or shaft 3'1 and the disposition of the ears 33 and 34 is such that when the plate 21 is pushed against one side of the complemental stacks of laminations, the ears pass beneath the angular extensions in substantial lateral engagement with the contiguous surfaces of the laminations below the extensions it, so that the shaft or rod 3'! substantially abuts the inner surfaces of the laminations and is held against axial shift in the ears 33 and 34.

The complemental frame member or shard 26 comprises a plate portion 40, arranged to overlie the opposite surface of the complemental stacks of laminations from shard 25, with the upper edge of the plate cut down, as in the horizontal edge 4|, so as to underlie the coil l8, but with a leg extension extending vertically above ,the edge 4|, as indicated at 42, to extend behind the coil, axially thereof. The leg 42 and the plate 40 are each provided with lances or tongues 43 and 44, by which a resilient stop element, such as piano wire 45, or the like spring element, can be tightly held so as to furnish a vertically extending resilient stop disposed in a plane closely adjacent to the plane of the plate 49. A horizontal slot 46 is provided in plate 4!! parallel to the upper edge 4| thereof, the median longitudinal axis of which passes across the line of the wire 45, between the upper and lower lances or tongues holding the wire, for a purpose to be discussed.

The plate portion 4|! at the lower end has an annular opening 41, bridged by the transverse web 48, also struck out transversely of the plane of the plate, and which is provided with a bearing or bushing opening 50. Close to the upper edge of the lower annular opening 41 the plate 40 is provided with a pinion-bearing opening 5| to receive a shaft to be described. To one side of a vertical line passing through the bearing assent-1 opening 5| is the horizental slot 52 generally 'barmember tobe described. The plate 40 has rivet "apertures 56 for aligned registration with the respective rivet apertures of the core and 'othercplate. Usually prior to theassernbly withthe field'core lamin'ations, the housing wall portion "or shard 2 6 is preyided with the sliding rack bar5l, slidably mountedinthe guide pat'h "55 and laterally overlying the elongated "guide slot "415. "Rivets 5'9 compute thebasi'c assembly.

Rack bar 57 has atone inner f'r'ee "end ameterably slightly rounded end edge 58, 'arr'an'ge'd'to abut and bestopp'edby the wire 45 i"n theinn'er retrajeted pcsiticn of the rack bar. The rackbar 5'l ha's teeth 66 along its lower edge, and a latch recess 81 of such size and disposition as latchingl'y to relatively receive latch 53 onits upper edge close to thethumb piece or handle 62 of the' rack bar. The thulnb piece ma be a separately tori" dbrrnelde'd elementbuttw economy may 'c'ofri'filiSe a bent 1atera1 extension of the' rack bar as illustrated. Preferably, the thumb piece and housing to be described are complementally externally serratedto 'redu'ce slippage. The Ideatidr'l f the lateh' r'ecess 6 I relative to the-abutting free end 58is sii'eh thatwhen'the rack is pushed inwardly ii-ntil stopped the free end 53 engages and abuts against the wire 45 before therecess 6| becomes Vertically aligned with thedetent or latch-53, so thatan affirmative push beyondnormal operating pressure is necessary to actually bend ordefieet the wire -45, before thedetent' 53 and the-latch-"recess-fil become vertically aligned so-that anupward push on the thumb piecewill interengage' the latch and recess'to hold the rack bar in its inward'position against the bias to be described, with the thurnb 'piece' close to thej-as= sembly soas to-li'e'closeto the edge of the housing to ca-described. The rack bar ;51 carries at'rans versely extending yoke 63, the legs *of which straddle the guide bar '31 and form *a traveling abutment for one endoi thefcompression spring Styand the -'slfank 64 of the yoke extends laterally through the r-ack bar to peined 'or riveted relation thereto an aperture provided for-the purpose asindicate'd at'65. The shank 64 or the yoke slides in the horizontal slot to act as a sup= elemental guide for the rack bar additive to the guide for-ni-ed at 'tli'e' side edge of the frame mem her by the latch-5'3 and-guide'E- I. A rack actuated pinion-gear fili'of magnetic material such as steel or the like is press-fitted to the shank of' arivlet or the"1ike"61 assing through the Short slot 52 in ermanent mesh with the teeth 60 Of the rack bar but d'scil'atable about such teeth as -pivots in sliding long itudi'rially'of the slot between a'p'o'si tion in mesh with the ear '14 and a position but of mesh therewith. i Y

a ily-wheelf i'hag r iet m is provided as a solid disc of ma netized steel preferably of Alnicd or the likeha'ving at least two poles, and 'n'iore it round desirable, 'having 'a transverse axle '1 and arrarig'ed "n the assembly'of the metaisnares with the lam 'te'd stacks to pass throughfthe aligned axle 'op ehingssl and 50 Of the "respective Webs, for rotation within the magnet annular openings "30, 4 and! 1-, formed "respectively 6 in the eha -eiatathe laminated core ,j H the other end plat-". A rtr'=assenib1y,'the ax H protruding through side web 48 receitesa inien gear '12 with 'whichithas'a pressed at. The mechanical train is corhpleted eyasnartfla upon "whibh a pinion gear 14, ot magnetizable rneta1 sii'ch'a's steel crtl'ielike, i'S presSedim diately adjaeentto and coaxial'with'a large driving gear 15, alsop'ressed dr'otherwise'keyedto the shaft '1'3','with the teethef the large "gearineonstant 'mesh'with*thepi nion'n. The 'centerof the-large gear "'55 contains preferably a srnail steel "ball 19 a aloearing engagement against the case, to he ascribed. Large-gear 1-5,--sh-a,rr l3, magnetizable 'gear 14am theballbearing1-9'-are"droppe'd into bearing opening 5! "after'the as embly is eoinpiet'ea. Whenthe casei's' abpliedi't holdsthe largegeairin place. 7 w h it "will be observed that the teeth for themag- -net'iz'al'ne pinion gear 1t "overlie and are; (closely adjacent to "the 'peribhery of the fly-wheel mag net lil's'o asto be constantly in the most 'in e field of me: of "said ma net Tu'and'tner'fo a constantstate 'of magnetization'having it's own r field,'within the sphere of flux activity or which and of "the fly wheel-also the movable gear ts constantl disposed to be drawn toward-the gear M, with mutual attractionbetwen gears Wand ea. "As gear "I4 is rel'ati'xiel fixed and 'gear'fiti's relatively -in'oy'able in its slot in translation, the mutual attraction urges gear 65 toward meshing with' gea'r 1'4.

A two part easing o'r'housi ng is prov-idedfof which the parts are ceniplerrientalandcbinprise one side wall 16 of generally oval shape, except at the "top, in which it rises into a forwardly presenting semi=cy1indrioa1 "socket-receiving set back br 'staggered'element H, and is generally arcuate or eurvil'inea rat the lower 'end,*and"*at the sides comprises the outer generally substantially natal-m1 surfaces 18 a'fid all 'Of these Walls terminato'in a p1ana'rsurface' 83 ipara11e1-tb wall F6. The inner parallel side wall edges havea sheulder formation with the aligned short surfac'es8 I "parallel to the plane of the edge surf-ace 83. The spacing of the internally presenting surfaces-so is predeterminedly such thatthejas sembly or mechanical and metal parts as described can be forced into the housing with a frictional engagement between the lateral side edges of the assembly antiwar-surfaces 8U Oftlie housing, to furnish a tight engagement 'wi-theut rivets orother fastening aids or the like. The c'omplernental housing is generally "similarly shap'edexcept for the formation of a lateral'rece'ss '82 in one 'side "wan to receive and permit-the sliding movem'nt'of therack bar 51. The housingportions are formed in assembly with sompleniental opposing faces '83, between which, in completing the assembly, suitable adhesive are pl'a'cedto glue the components together, enemy in}; the'o'perative apparatus. Inth isc'onnection it will be understood that as the two halves er th'efhbusing are broughtinto con-fronting juxtaposition-forsealed contact, two gobs of plaster of Paris or'the like,'a's indicated "at at and 85fw be disposedbn opposite'sides of the -socket rec'e tacle E3 or or the actual resistance unit-itself ifusfe'd withbut a socket in 'o'rder 'toanchor it rigidly in the cylindrical housingeitensieh, to "prevent motion of 7 the socket relative to the "housing," and the more readily to "permit the insertion and rein'ovalo'f the actuated resistance unit fort he assembly. As "shown, the resistance unit is a light biil-b, but it be orear that-any ether and v shown at 81.

resistance unit, such as a heating element for lighting cigarettes and the like may be substituted therefor.

In operation, with the device grasped in one hand, with the hand substantially at shoulder height, the fingers engage the remote edge of the device which haspreferably serrations 86 to facilitate the grip, while the thumb engages the thumb piece 62, which may be similarly serrated as By contracting pressure the rack bar is pushed inwardly against the bias of the wire 45, until the latch recess 6| on the rack bar can be relatively withdrawn vertically from the latch detent 53, when in response to the bias of the compression spring after releasing thumb pressure the rack bar is extended to its fullest extent. This motion is permitted because the withdrawing rack bar, through its teeth, rotates the rack-actuated pinion 56, which is forced out of mesh with the magnetic pinion it, against the resistance of the magnetic attraction between gears 14 and $6. As soon as the rack bar extends to its fullest extension, the unmeshing pressure on the gear t is withdrawn or terminated and the latter is free to move in its slot 52 back into mesh with the gear 14, as soon as the respective teeth thereof are relatively out of interfering alignment. When the thumb is used to push the thumb piece inwardly of the housing, the pinions 14 and 66 are in driving meshing relation at the start of the motion, owing to the immediate rotation of gear 66 with start of the movement and instantaneous meshing as soon as the gear is so moved as to permit actual mesh. A smart accelerating push on the rack bar, as shown in Fig. 10, in the direction of the arrow, imparts a counterclockwise rotation to gear 66, and, thus, through meshing interengagement a clockwise rotation to the pinion l4, and, thus, therefore to the integral or large The gear, being in permanent mesh with the flywheel magnet pinion gear 12 causes the fly-wheel magnet to be driven counterclockwise. The neto action of the rotating magnet and the laminated core develops a voltage across the terminals of the resistance element, to heat it in the case of a mere resistor, or to render it incandescent in the case of a light source operatively mounted in the socket 23. The drive is overrunning because soon as rack bar, in the normal generating functioning of the device, abuts the wire it stops without appreciable flexing of the latter and thus without permitting the latch recess and the latch to become vertically aligned, while the fly-wheel through its inertia continues to run in the clockwise direction. As the pinion 66 has stopped rotation with the stoppage of the linear thrust of rack bar, the inertia of the fly-wheel keeps the fly-wheel pinion l2 rotating counterclockwise, the meshed large gear and keyed pinion gear 74 keep rotating clockwise, and the pinion it rotates against the slidable gear 66, which is free to respond to the pressure to move out of mesh by sliding along the slot, as it turns about a tooth in mesh with the rack bar. This forced unmeshing of the movable gear 66 from the fixed magnetic pinion Hi is also secured by the spring pressed return outward movement of the rack bar in its permanent mesh with the gear 6%. It

will be seen that any rotation imparted. by the fly-wheel to pinion l4 unmeshes the movable gear 66 therefrom, whether the rack bar is stationary or sliding linearly, and this is against theattractionof the-magnetized gear 14 for the sliding gear 66. On the other hand, anydrive imparted by the sliding rack bar is accompanied by automatic meshing to establish a rack bar drive of the fly-wheel in the same one direction. The arrangement shown is therefore a complete overrunning clutch, without any of the conventional clutch structure, and without the weight, size, and susceptibility to wear possessed of such clutches.

The small and compact size of the generator unit, and the freedom from wear and the cheapness and sturdiness of the device will be evident.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

'1. A hand operated portable generator for resistance units comprising a stator core, a coil embracing a portion of the stator core, a magnetized flywheel disc forming the armature of the generator, means mounting the flywheel for rotation, manually operated means biased in one direction arranged for bidirectional movement, gearing operatively associating the manually operated means and the flywheel for unidirectional movements of the latter and comprising a rack on said manually operated means, a bodily fixed gear in driving relation to said flywheel, a bodily movable gear biased toward the bodily fixed gear, means guiding said bodily movable gear for translational movement between positions respectively of meshing and unmeshing relation between the gears while constantly maintaining meshing engagement between the bodily movable gear and said rack, said meshing relation between said gears being automatically effected upon movement of said manual means in one direction and said unmeshing relation being effected against the bias upon movement of said manual means in the other direction and also as a result of torque from the bodily fixed gear in the inertial running of the flywheel.

2. A hand operated portable generator comprising a plurality of laminations forming a flywheel opening and a coil opening, a magnet flywheel forming the armature of the generator, means mounting the flywheel for rotation in the said flywheel opening, a coil substantially embracing po-rtions of said laminations and disposed in part in said coil opening, and means including a free wheeling assembly for securing unidirectional motion of the flywheel, said means including a pinion gear of magnetizable material juxtaposed to said magnet flywheel to be magnetically energized thereby, a bodily movable gear of magnetizable material juxtaposed to said pinion gear, and means for guiding said bodily movable gear for translational as well as rotative movements relative to said pinion gear with an urge toward said pinion gear through mutual magnetic attraction between said gears.

3. A portable generator comprising a core, a coil embracing portions of the core, a plate mounted on the side of the core, a spring device, a guide and a detent formed on the plate, a push rod guided slidably in the guide, the push rod having teeth on the lower edge and having a detent recess in the upper surface thereof, means for biasing the push rod for extension from and relative to the plate, means on the push rod for pressing the rod inwardly against the bias to engage said spring device as a stop in the normal reciprocations of the push rod, said detent recess being so spaced in the push red as to be out of registration with the detent but arranged so that an abnormal push causes deflection of the spring device sufiicient to permit the detent to enter the detent recess. said spring device comprising a resilientstrip of metal in alignment with a nd trayer sing saidpgshgpd, and means for anchoring said strip toward-both ends on opposite sides of said push rod to,causesyinmetry,of resistance against said push rod and retain linearity of movement. thereof;

4. A portable generator comprising a frame, a push rod slidable relative to. the frame, means for guiding the push rod in itssliding movement,

Snrine: m ns biasing t pu 11 utward y relative to the frame, a detent recess being formed in saidpush rod, a detent formed'onthe frame,; a spring device againstwhich thepush rod abuts yieldable under excessive pressureto permitthe detent to enter said detent recess but so arranged as to be incapable of yieldi H ciently under normal abutting pressures nc dent topush'rod actuation as to permit the detent tp enter said recess,- said-springdevice comprising a resilient strip of metal in alignment wi and traversingsaid push rod, and means for orme, s d ip inward th e s nnpp siteid s sa xp h re cause ymme ry f esistan e against said push rod and retain linearity of movement thereof,

5. Aportable generator. cpmprising a pair. of,

paral l paced p saflywhee m net ormingthe armature of the gener means,on,the respective plates journalling sa flywheel magnet or r tation an emasnet oc is o between and spacing the plates, said core being so shaped as to have a coil recess toward one end and a flywheel recess toward the other end in which latter said flywheel magnet is rotatable, guide ears on one plate extending into the coil recess toward the other plate, a shaft mounted in the ears and disposed in the coil recess, a spring embracing said shaft, guide means on said other plate, a push rod slidably guided in the guide means, externally of said other plate, said guide means including a slot, a yoke mounted on the rod and extending through said slot and having fingers straddling said shaft abutting one end of said spring, a finger element on said rod for pushing it in one direction against the resistance of said spring whereby energy is stored for moving the rod in the other direction when pressure on the finger-piece is released, gearing connecting the rod with the flywheel for driving same in one direction, a coil electromagnetically associated with said core, a terminal mounting for a resistance unit electrically coupled to said core.

6. A portable generator comprising a rigid frame comprising a core and side frame members mounted on the lateral surfaces of the core, said core having a flywheel clearance, said frame members comprising web elements extending across the flywheel clearance and forming bearings for a flywheel, a flywheel magnet journalled in said bearings and rotatable in the said clearance, said magnet forming the armature of the generator a coil operatively associated with the core for generating a voltage as the flywheel rotates, a rack element, means guiding the rack element for movements relative to the rigid frame, a spring biasing the rack element toward one position, means for moving the rack element to another position against the bias by manual manipulation, a magnetizable gear in mesh with the rack element, means mounting the gear for translational movements substantially in a plane radial of the gear in a path generall parallel to the line of movement of said rack element while retaining the mesh with said rack element, and

rotatabl masae izabl eshin lement driven relation be said, fl whee fixed aaai s translaiiqaan disms din l x fiel o ga call to,

arm t re t atira t widv gea mag 5- s lishaq ive or. said. m shing e em.

said-ra lselenieut '23 portable nerator m nimisingflux insane, member is driv amembe s aicl dri ns a rota able flywhee m net formin 0..- ,uxtano ed. o he ma ne and, cam within at a sel eraterz a d. r ng her comprisi g ree s havin t e h, a erar ra n eonne i the emb rs We ont uous, e ementsoi eg t ain eing iormed mas t east n is imi at s.

,. ament to. erm t.

reater t5 r fiml. t m gnetic. attraqtign move int drivin interenejaaement; and tomere relat vely out of said driving interen o ata le flywhe ls ma n t. n ro ate 1pm l tai s? re a ve lemen s to d s enn p the drivin and. an

m mbers to assure unidirectional nQY mQiitIcS-Y aidflv heelma net 3'0" core, so shaped as to nd: a s ced: seqqnqar lrle n' and comprising the armature of the generator, a plate mounted on the core and straddling said secondary clearance, said plate having a shaft bearing opening, a rack bar, means guiding the rack bar for motion relative to said plate, a shaft, a pinion and gear mounted on the shaft in coaxial relationand said shaft being arranged for mounting in said bearing in said plate to extend partially into said secondary clearance, antifriction means disposed in alignment with said shaft adjacent to said gear and so arranged that said housing abuts said antifriction device to maintain said shaft in its properly aligned position in said bearing, means for transmitting torque to said pinion from said rack bar, and a pinion coaxial with said flywheel in mesh with said gear when said housing abuts said antifriction device.

9. A hand operated portable generator for resistance units comprising a stator core, a coil in inductive relation to said core, a magnetized flywheel disc forming the armature of the generator, means mounting the flywheel for rotation, manually operated means biased in one direction and arranged for bidirectional move.- ment, gearing operatively associating the manually operated means and the flywheel for unidirectional movements of the latter and comprising a rack operatively connected to the manually operated means and disposed for linear movement longitudinally of the rack, means guiding said rack for movement in a linear path, a bodily fixed gear in driving relation to said flywheel, a bodily movable gear, the axes of said gears being in general transverse alignment parallel to said linear path, means guiding said bodily movable gear for linear translational movement parallel to the linear path of said rack between a position meshing with said bodily fixed gear during thrust of the rack toward said gears, and a position unmeshing said gears during opposite retraction of said rack and also during the existence of and in response to pre- 7 ponderating torque from the bodily fixed gear rm ture. of; eeneratori an electroin e m g 12 59 5 29, e ne'r izeillby ills v.eo m ansmmintine th elements,

8'; aepvo ab eee erata c ment ng. a c re said,

over that of the bodily movable gear incident to inertial running of said flywheel regardless of the state of motion of the rack.

10. A hand operated portable generator for resistance units comprising a'stator core, a coil embracing a portion of the stator core, a magnetized flywheel disc forming the armature of the generator, means mounting the flywheel for rotation, manually operated means biased in one direction arranged for bidirectional movement, gearing operatively associating the manually operated means and the flywheel for unidirectional movements of the latter and comprising a rack on said manually operated means, a bodily fixed gear in driving relation to said flywheel, a bodily movable gear biased toward the bodily fixed gear, means guiding said bodily movable gear for translational movement between positions respectively of meshing and unmeshing relation between the gears while constantly maintaining meshing engagement between the bodily movable gear and said rack, said meshing relation between said gears being automatically effected upon movement of said manual means in one direction and said unmeshing relation being eifected against the bias upon movement of said manual means in the other direction and also as a result of torque from the bodily fixed gear in the inertial running of the flywheel, said respective gears being of magnetizable material and at least one of said gears being within the magnetic field of said armature so that the bias on the movable gear is magnetic mutual attraction between both gears.

JOSEPH C. CLARK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,184,056 Van Deventer May 23, 1916 1,285,243 Kuhn-Frei Nov. 19, 1918 1,303,068 Junghans May 6, 1919 1,316,372 Liebreich -1 Sept. 12, 1919 15 1,333,119 Krag-Muller Mar. 9, 1920 1,373,558 Guttinger Apr. 5, 1921 1,380,180 Beaudot May 31, 1921 1,678,496 Bernasconi July 24, 1928 1,853,188 Wood Apr. 12, 1932 1,897,786 Bauman Feb. 14, 1933 1,956,339 Bernasconi Apr. 24, 1934 2,035,812 Janzen Mar, 31, 1936 2,399,921 Golob et al. May 7, 1946 2,424,700 McMath July 29, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 275,975 Great Britain Oct. 20, 1927 496,510 France Aug. 6, 1919 782,579 France Mar. 18, 1935 28,011 Switzerland June 8, 1903 

